Supertelescope

August 3, 1986|By Charlie Jean

FOUR UNIVERSITY of Arizona and MIT astronomers suggest orbiting a giant telescope to search for oxygen in the atmospheres of planets of neighboring stars, a strong indication of life. ''We are talking about a monstrous telescope with a 16 meter (52.5-foot) mirror,'' said University of Arizona astronomer Neville Woolf. In comparison, Woolf said, the Hubble Space Telescope, which was to have been orbited this month, is only 8.2 feet in diameter. ''It would do incredible things for astronomy, but it is not something one can imagine happening within the next 25 years,'' Woolf said.